Evening and Night
by Oerba Dia Kiri-Ki
Summary: Almost 5 years have gone by since the events of Final Fantasy 8, and Squall now finds himself as a Professor at a school located on Destiny Islands. Little does he expect the new transferred Instructor to be the one and only Quistis Trepe. What happens when the past is brought up, and his motives for leaving the Garden questioned? QuisxSquall - Rated M for future content.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: Finally the start of the long awaited QuisxSquall story. I'm sorry for the few people who have been waiting on this for awhile now, but I promise it will be updated on a regular basis~

It stems from the same AU verse as the other fics I have posted, so if references are mentioned, that is why.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as it's one of the few that have had a lot of work put into it by me and my friend.

**Disclaimer**: We do not own any characters, places, or intellectual property of Final Fantasy VIII, or Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

Squall Leonhart stood at around the height of 5'8", with brown unruly hair nearly unkempt half the time, but still managing to look quite perfect atop is head. His blue eyes were the utmost brilliant shade, and were glossy today, in matter of fact. He wore his distinctive black leather jacket, and underneath was a white v-neck shirt, but kept his usual black pants with the three interconnecting belts at his waist, and his pair of black boots. His Griever silver-chained necklace hung from his neck, and the matching ring gleaming on the finger of his hand. He was dressed casually, but still gave off a mature commander look as he walked about in the hallways, enjoying his solitude and resorting back to his introverted self.

He started to recall his past memories back at the orphanage, along with the memories of his adopted sister Ellone. Remembering the oldest girl there used to protect him when Seifer used to bully him, and she was always there to rescue him as well. As silly as that sounded, it didn't sound as ridiculous back then when he was just a child.

He even remembered the day his father, Laguna, had brought them to the orphanage back on Centra. Squall would recognize the familiar faces of who he had spent time with back then, and that included everyone that had endured the burden of saving their world.

Still, at some point a conversation with Cid had led to the topic of him possibly teaching the younger SeeDs as an instructor - since who better to teach them, than their very own leader who had survived and gone through so much already as SeeD. He _had_ given it some thought, but upon some certain events unfolding some time later, he had opted to start over somewhere new - and away from anyone who might know him.

This was partially what had brought him to visit Destiny Island, and serve as a professor instead of at the Garden.

Squall breathed out heavily, shrugging his shoulders at the thought of being a teacher. He really didn't even enjoy what he'd been through as a SeeD either. Either way, the male shoved all those previous thoughts away to focus on the task at hand.

Continuing down the hallway, he was looking for a certain room today, and hoping to find what he was looking for. _Could it be?_ He wondered as he proceed forward, stopping in front of a classroom that appeared occupied.

He reached for the door's handle, twisted and pushed it open, and inside he looked toward the blonde-headed figure sitting at the large teacher's desk, books and other sorted items placed nicely on top.

Squall took a moment to realize he had barged in without knocking. "Ah.. Sorr-" He paused, looking at the familiar face, the pair of glasses she wore looking familiar to him, but the eyes behind them that were brooding.

"_Quistis_?" He said, a sense of surprise in his tone.

When he heard that someone from Balamb had come to teach on the island as well, he had hoped it would be someone he knew, but he wouldn't have guessed it would be Quistis Trepe - the child prodigy since she was fifteen years old, and the same girl who had attended the orphanage that Squall had been to.

Quistis sighed, clearly not amused that she had been disturbed. She was so close to being done with the day's blasted paperwork too, and various other forms she still needed to fill out for the school. Still, not once did her writing utensil stop moving, even with the sudden intrusion into her classroom.

"Yes, I'm Quistis. Is there something I can do for you?" She asked, not even bothering to look up from her papers at the person who had barged in unannounced.

"Oh, and for the record, knocking first would be appreciated. Just so you know." Quistis said flatly, as she straightened out her current stack of papers. Putting those aside on the corner of her desk, she pulled out another colored folder and began working on it's contents.

It hit her a moment later though, after flipping over one of the papers, that she had been so fixated on her work, that she hadn't even noticed who she was talking to.

Squall stood there at the doorway between the hallway and the classroom, his hand still gripped around the handle, tightening over the next few drawn out seconds.

_Quisty_. He said subconsciously whilst he looked at her busing out and about on the paperwork on her desk. Squall had always known she was strict and independent with her work, and she was never the type to slack off. He admired that.

His grip from the door's handle loosened, taking a few steps forward and approaching the front of her desk. He placed both his palms face down on the desk, and looked down at her. "That's not a very appreciated greeting to an old friend, Quis." He said with a smirk, leaning off from the desk and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Don't you remember me?"

"_Remember you.._?"

Quistis stopped in the middle of writing, to linger on those words. She realized how familiar the voice was. It brought backs memories of someone she knew, but hadn't seen in years. For a brief moment, Quistis wondered about the possibility of him being here. Although, there was no way that person could be here; or at least she thought anyway.

She inhaled, trying to regain her composure. Quis leaned back in her chair, and took a good look at the person standing in front of her desk. The second she looked Squall in the eyes, her gut did a 180 degree flop.

"…Squall? By Shiva's breath, is that _really_ you?" She was in shock. It had been at least 4 years since she last saw him; and by all means she didn't honestly ever expect to see him again. And yet, here he was, staring her down, like he had done so many times before.

"In the flesh, Instructor Quistis Trepe." He said with a slight crooked smile, staring down at her from where she sat. Squall positioned himself so that he slightly leaned against her desk before he took a seat near the edge to avoid sitting on the stacks of papers and school-related items that belonged to her.

"Busy at work already? You just got here." He crossed his arms, smirking. Squall eyed her for a while before averting his eyes to window, gazing a bit outside whilst breathing heavily. Sighing as he thought about how many years had gone by ever since Quis, and the rest of the gang, has been separated after taking their own paths - but not once had Squall would've thought to have Quistis and him cross paths again.

"You got assigned to teach, too, I see. Suits you. Considering back at Balamb..."

She moved her last folder onto the stack, and propped her elbow up onto the cleared space on her desk, then cut him off mid sentence.

"Did you really think I would slack off on _my_ work?" Quistis grinned, resting her chin on top of her left hand; eyes still focused on Squall. "And besides, teaching is the only thing I'm truly good at." A thought hit her a second after saying that; and as she was about to ask him something, she noticed he seemed to be slightly distracted.

It wasn't hard for her to notice at all though. She always just knew when something was wrong with him; and even after the years of being separated, nothing could change that fact. And yet, she had no room to talk either. Lately she'd been catching herself thinking about the past, and everything that had occurred. _I wonder if he's ever thought of any of the friends he left behind… Or even.._ Her mind wandered, as she waited for him to say something.

Squall nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and cocking his head to each side to lessen the strain on his neck, to get rid of the cricks in his nape. He smiled widely with a precarious look in his deep blue eyes as he concentrated on her words.

"Well… no. Good point." He said, laughing under his breath at how persistent she was with labor. "Don't work too hard now. You have to be able to distinguish between work and your own free time. Can't be working all the time. Gonna need a break once and while, right?"

He shook his head, realizing she had a questionable look on her face, but nothing more –- like she was going to ask something. He seemed a little more bothered by something else, but tried not to show it. He lifted himself up from the desk and looked at Quis. "Well, good luck with everything here. My classroom is not that far from here, so if you ever need anything… Don't come bothering me."

He tried to stifle a sincere smile along with a bit of muffled laughter, trying to contain himself. Squall turned and headed to the door, waving his hand behind him as he walked.

"See you around."


	2. Chapter 2

Quis watched him head for the door. She wanted to reach out, and keep him from leaving her so soon. She was practically dying on the inside; there were so many things she wanted so ask him.

"H-Hey wait! Squall!" Calling after him, though it seemed like more of a plead to keep him there. "I was hoping you might be free for awhile… You know, so we can catch up?"

She stared at him, slightly aware of how embarrassed she might look. After all, she probably wouldn't admit it out loud; but she had missed him - a lot in fact, as nothing had been the same with him gone. Quistis had been so used to being around Squall all the time; that the day he left, it had left her feeling like there was an empty void inside her.

And when everyone else started going their own ways, she felt more alone then ever. Sure, she still kept contact with two of her old friends, but Squall had disappeared without saying anything to anyone; and if nothing else, she wanted a reason why.

Squall had gotten past the doorway until hearing the woman call out for him stopped him in his tracks. He turned around to face her, listening to her request.

"Yeah?" He walked back into the doorway, leaning against the frame, his hands still resting inside his pockets. She clearly had gained his attention. "Yeah, of course, Quis. I have plenty of free time. Lucky you." He said with a sly smile.

Squall took a stride over to her desk again, pulling out his cell phone quite smoothly and promptly hovered it in front of her. "Your number." He said with poise, holding out his phone until she would reach for it, and punch in her digits to his contact's list. He couldn't really say no, definitely not to an old friend of his that he had rudely pushed out from his life.

Without reason?

He had his reasons, but did he really want to share? He pushed those thoughts aside, and would somehow explain to her. "I don't have all day," He said in a dry tone, but still with a sense of teasing.

Quis raised an eyebrow at him questionably, before carefully entering her number into his phone. "Well… Anyway.." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. While she had stopped to think, Squall reached for his phone, and stuffed it back into the pockets of his pants.

"Anyway?" He repeated her words, wondering where exactly she was going with the whole thing. The male got his answer though as soon as that word slipped from his mouth.

"What exactly did you do when you left?." That was the first of three questions that had plagued Quistis's mind for a couple of years now. She glanced up, to look him in the face; and for a split second, could have sworn she saw a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

_What's going through his mind, I wonder…_

She sighed under her breath, but wasn't going to ask what was wrong; not just yet anyway. "I'm also wondering if you've contacted any of the gang, at any point since you've been gone…" Quis asked, though she already knew he hadn't talked to Selphie or Zell, since the day he vanished.

The last she had talked to the younger woman, things at the garden had calmed down somewhat; which was an improvement from her last visit. Things at Balamb had deteriorated fast, after mere days with no real leader to guide them. She fell silent for a few minutes, staring at the empty space on her desk; brooding in her thoughts.

He was quiet, replaying every word she had spoken, hearing her question and show concern about him in his mind. "What did I do when I.. Left?" He titled his head a bit, unsure of what she was asking, but his eyebrows furrowed when he realized what she had truly wanted to know. The look she gave him then caught him off guard however, and he fumbled with his reasoning which gave her enough time to speak up once more.

_I need to know.._ The thought nagged at her as she peered up at Squall. "…Why did you leave? Without saying a word to anyone… And without saying anything to me…" She spoke those last words quietly, her voice tinged with an obvious hint of sadness.

"Well you see... The reason I left Balamb was…" He repeated in his head, curious as to why she was asking him all these questions.

"Rinoa…" It had been a while since that name had ever crossed his mind. "Rinoa and I couldn't continue doing what we had planned to do. She wasn't interested anymore, in me _or_ anything to do with me. Last I saw her was when she told me she was leaving. To be with who, or to do what, I didn't know." He lowered his eyes to the floor.

"I left, and came here to get away, then I got a letter wanting me to join as a teacher, so that's why I'm here. I left as soon as I packed. Have I contacted anyone since? No. I needed to start somewhere new, where not that many people knew me. So I came here with a clean slate." He looked up, his head turning to the windows of the classroom.

"I was no longer needed at Balamb, that's why I left, Quistis. I couldn't stay there knowing she left me, especially after everything we had went through." He walked to the window, his hands pressing the window sill and with a long sigh, he looked out the window as he leaned against it. He couldn't look at Quis right now.

"I'm sorry that I left, without saying anything." He said finally, his voice cracking a bit as the lump in his throat seemed to settle there. "Almost everything around Garden had a memory associated with her.. It was painful, to put it simply."

"…I figured I was right. About Rinoa anyway." Quistis paused, realizing just saying that name still left a nasty taste in her mouth. Honestly, just hearing that other woman's name made her sick to her stomach.

_I guess everyone knows but him then…_

Quis pushed herself up, out of her desk, and walked over towards Squall; stopping to where there was about two feet between them. She stayed quiet for awhile, just watching him as he stared off into the distance.

"You know…" The words just started flowing out of her mouth.

"Everyone knows what she did… After breaking it off with you, she high-tailed it back to Seifer, who we all assumed took her back." Quis wasn't sure why she was telling him all this, but subconsciously she felt that he might want to know.

"Rinoa tried visiting the garden shortly after you left as well. But it was obvious she wasn't wanted around. And for whatever reason, she thought I could remedy the situation…"

Her train of thought took her back a few years, to the moment Rinoa had come to her. Quis easily recalled how much the younger girl had pleaded to her, wanting nothing more than to be accepted again. But what the blonde had done instead, had scared Rinoa pretty damn bad.

Squall stood there, head still lowered, eyes looking vacantly out the window, distracted once Rinoa's name had continued to be brought up. His eyes sadly widened when her face illuminated in his head. Remembering the words she had said to him when Rinoa had stated she was leaving him, but never gave a better reason as to why.

His hands clenched into fists against the window sill, beginning to get irritated at himself for recalling that unneeded memory.

When Quistis started talking, explaining what had really happened after he left once Rinoa was done with him, and had gone back to Seifer, or so they thought they had remained together, Squall wasn't really sure either. The expression on his face had gone sour, the prominent scowl on his face loomed. He still continued to listen as Quis explained further of what Rinoa did when she went to Quis, hoping she would comfort her.

"…When she asked for my help.. The only thing running through my mind that day; was how she drove you away. How because of her selfishness and wanting things her way, you were gone. Forced away from the people who still cared for you.. And without thinking, I had slapped her.. Pretty hard.. In fact, I'm 100% sure everyone in Garden could hear it."

The tiniest of grins appeared on her face, if only for a split second. Slapping that stupid girl had taken so much stress off her shoulders, plus it was something she had wanted to do for a long time, pretty much since the day they had met - or rather, once she had walked into their lives like some kind of princess, and waltzed with Squall until his attentions were entirely on her.

Quistis fell silent once more. It hit her that she might have said a bit too much though. This was Rinoa she was talking about after all, and Squall had given her his heart - a feat in itself, really, and something no one else could ever claim to have done. That tiny thought, left her to wonder if he even still had feelings for her.

It took a few mintunes of silence for her words to sink in, but once they had, Squall turned around, looking at her. "You.. slapped Rinoa?" His arms dropped to his sides, his hands unclenched from the tension. A slight pleased smile on his face surfaced, and he softly laughed under his exhalation.

"You slapped her?" He exclaimed again, a sense of satisfaction in his tone. "That was expected. I mean, clearly, even I would've seen that coming to her," He said as he looked at Quis. "She deserved it, I guess. I don't know whether to scold you, or applaud and thank you, Quisty."

She took a few steps forward, so that they were standing side by side and folded her arms. "Well… To be honest, I expected to be scolded." Quis, sighed and stared out through the window. "At the time, I thought I had slapped her for what she had done… But later I figured out that it hadn't been the case at all." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, and noticed the small smile plastered on his face; not being able to remember the last time she had seen him do so.

"Scolded?" He said, his eye brow arched questionably whilst looking at Quis. He opened his mouth to speak, but his lower jaw rose to retain his mouth from opening. "I really couldn't find it in myself to scold you even if that was the case." He said with a shrug, callously sliding his hands back into his pockets as he leaned back. "I really wasn't there to know the whole story behind it all," His eyelids closed for a few moments as he thought to himself.

Quistis was about to continue speaking, when the alarm on her phone went off; signaling her that she needed to be on her way home to feed her rather peculiar feline companion. Hyne knows he got cranky if he didn't get fed on time. She turned off the alarm and stuffed her cellphone back into her jacket's pocket.

"Well, I need to be leaving here soon… I have something that I need to take care of at home, and if I don't start walking back now, I'll be late." It was a good thing she had already packed up earlier, or else she would be in trouble. Walking over to her desk, she picked up her bag and pulled the strap over her shoulder. "What about you..?" She asked.

Squall took a stride over to her desk as she packed up her belongings and gave her a shrug. "What about me? I plan to head home," He quickly looked away as if flustered. "I can offer you a ride home, however."

"Oh..? Well it would be nice, seeing as how it's about a 20 minute walk back to my place." She said as she moved over to the light switch; resting her hand above it for a moment. "I guess I'll meet you outside in the parking lot then. Since I assume you probably have your own stuff to grab from your room?" Quis asked in a soft tone, not quite sure if he really needed to or not.

His eyes follow her movement toward the doorway, and his ears were alert and keen to her words. He gave a shrug, nodding. "I don't mind. It's probably in the same direction as my house anyway." He started to push himself forward to walk and follow after her.

"Not really. I did that earlier, so I don't really need to get my things." He added, while reaching into his back pocket, and retrieveing a pair of keys that he held up for her to see. "I'll be following close behind."

She waited for Squall to walk out of the classroom, before turning off the lights and locking up for the night. Quickly checking her cellphone for the time, Quis glanced at him and smiled. "I'll be out front alright?" She called out to him as she started jogging down the hall, towards the school entrance.

Squall got to the door way when she had turned to leave, saying she would be waiting outside for him, simply nodding to her request. He shook is head, contemplating if this really was a good idea.

"I'll just give her a ride home and drop her off… That's all." He muttered under his exhale, watching as Quis' figure had disappeared at the end of the hall way. He soon followed after with a quick walking pace, a few moments of nearly sprinting down the hall to catch up, he finally reached outside and eyed his surroundings.

Squall spotted her a few feet away, making his way over her. "Did you wait long?"

"I've been waiting years for you to get here." Quis said, obviously teasing him. After Squall had apologized for keeping her waiting, and scowling at her humor. He nodded over to a black vehicle not far from them. "That's my car. Let's go." He guided her to his car, waiting until she followed and soon after opened the door for himself to get inside to unlock her door. As she stood there outside his car, she had to hand it to him. He had a great sense of taste.. When it came to cars anyway.

She watched as he flipped the lock switch on her door; as soon as he did, she got in and made herself comfortable; placing her bag gingerly on her lap. While she got buckled in, she wondered how long it had been, since the last time she had even been in a car. He reached for the seat belt and also fastened himself in, and soon after his car roared to life with the engine purring like a beauty.

"Do you know where the mini mart is, near the mall?" She inquired, as he pulled out of the school parking lot, and headed towards the main road. Squall set the car into drive, hand on the wheel as he turned out onto the street while pressing a bit on the gas, heading to where Quis had suggested her house was.

"The mini mart? Yeah. I know of it. I don't live far from there." He headed toward the location of the mart that was a close proximity of the mall. Finally slowing down to get more directions. "And your house is somewhere around here?" He looked to her.

"Mhm. Turn right at the corner past the mini mart, and keep going down the street." She said. "And it'll be the 6th house on the left." Quis leaned back in her chair after giving him directions; and thought about what she was going to do for the rest of the night. She could probably just pop in a movie like always, but for some reason it just didn't have an appeal to her right now. Sighing under her breath, she turned her head and studied Squall. For what reason, she didn't know, but she wondered what he was going to do after dropping her off.

Squall followed her directions past the mini mart and continued driving down the street from there, and slowing counting the houses on the left side of the street until they arrived at the sixth house, and parking into the vacant driveway. He paused with both hands on the wheel, his head towards Quis. It took him a while to figure out during the drive here what he was going to do when he would drop her off and head home, but nothing came to mind. "Here we are," He finally said.

"Well, thanks for the ride home Squall, it was very nice of you." She gave him a small smile, as she undid her seat belt.

He nodded to her thanks, "Yeah.. Don't mention it."

Squall hesitantly lowered his eyes, unable to look directly at her, but still managed to open his mouth to speak.

"If you aren't doing anything later, and since you're new around here, uh," He finally lifted his head to look in her direction. "Do you want to get a few drinks at the bar?" He cleared his throat. "With me? Don't feel obligated to go, but I'm buying."

"Oh… S-sure, that sounds nice." Quistis said, clearly shocked he even wanted to spend more time with her.

He gave a shrug. "I'll wait for you out here." His hand went to the keys, rattling it until the car's engine had stopped.

"Go on."


	3. Chapter 3

The blonde lingered in her seat, contemplating if he was being serious with his offer - or perhaps this was just some sort of cruel joke. Back at Garden, he never would have asked her to do much of anything with him alone, never mind going out for a drink. Still, the look Squall was giving her now was more than enough for her to get the hint. It was a legit offer, and an opportunity she didn't want to pass up fr several reasons.

"I'll only be a few minutes.." Quistis mumbled in reply to him finally, as she unlocked and pushed the car door open to let herself out. Squall's gaze followed the woman as she walked in front of the car, and up to her door where she then quickly disappeared.

This left him to wait inside the car with nothing interesting to do but sit around until she came back. He fiddled with the handle that was hiding itself on the side of the seat, pulling it upward to allow the tension of his seat to lower until he was lying completely flat, and staring at the car roof's ceiling. A few moments later found him with his eye lids closed, surrounded in complete darkness in his mind for several moments.

In his mind, he was alone, and in a comfortable place; all to himself, and in his mind, he found the comfort he needed for the semi-stress he had to endure before he met Quistis in the classroom she was found in. Still, the cause for his stress wasn't easily explained. Squall's eyes opened minutes later, though it felt longer, and he reached for his cellular, pressing his fingers on the touchscreen until he paused.

The screen flickered, then went black for a few seconds. He ran his finger across the screen until the phone lit up and his eyes slightly slitted as he stared at the device in his hands. On the menu in his phone, there was a (1) next to '_messages_' on the list. The sender was unknown, but the feeling felt just the same. It was like he knew who it was, but how can he even be sure? He never really gave out his number to anyone, but this text had been sitting in his inbox for a few weeks now. He exhaled heavily, reading the same message over and over again until it replayed in his head in verbatim.

**Sender: _Unknown Number_**

**Message:**

_**Squall, how are you? It's been a while since we have talked. I haven't seen you since that day. Where have you gone? Why don't you respond back to my messages?I just want to know if you're okay. Please don't hate me. I didn't intend to cause any of those unneeded feelings to harm you. Forgive me.**_

He scowled, hitting the power button and within minutes the phone had shut off, leaving him to stare back at himself in the reflective black screen. He didn't need this – whatever it was – it was making him anxious because he couldn't even attempt in deleting the message. Though why that was, even he couldn't fully understand.

The disgruntled male stuffed the phone into his pocket, reached for the handle near the seat and jiggled it until his seat returned to the position he had been previously. The seat was erect, but his posture was slouched, still bothered that this feeling wouldn't cease from existing. Getting a drink now seemed so much more appealing than it had a few minutes before.

Back in the house, Quistis had barely put her school things up, before noticing her feline companion sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep - which made it a bit easier to slip in and out without being noticed. Still, as she walked by the piece of furniture a hand went down to pat him affectionately on the head, before entering the kitchen. Food and water bowls were retrieved and filled, and placed back on the floor as quietly as possible, as to not disturb the coeurl.

She then retracted her steps through the main room, to the opposite side of the house and into her room. Quistis shrugged off her dirty school clothes, while eying a few things in her closet she could wear to the bar - or rather, feel comfortable in while at the bar.

A frown slowly crept over her face at the lack of decent things she could wear, since most of what she did have was school related. Which was just fine, as she never had much time to go out and enjoy herself anyway, opting instead to stay home and do things there. But still, who goes to a bar in school uniform? Not her, that was for sure.

With a bit of silent grumbling, mostly bashing herself for not having gone shopping in awhile, did she pull out a plain black tank-top. She pulled it down over her head, and then took a few steps over to the dresser under her bedroom window. Quistis pulled open the top most drawer, rummaged through the articles of clothing inside until finding a decent pair of dark blue jeans. They would have to do.

After slipping into the jeans, the blonde stopped in front of the mirror sitting on her desk that was shoved up against the wall near the door. Undoing her hair clip, she took her hair down and started brushing it thoroughly. When she was convinced her hair was no longer a mess from the day's activities, she went to go put the clip back in; only to be greeted with a loud _snap_. "Crap…" Quis exclaimed, as tossed the broken pieces into the trash, and glanced around her room for another one; but to no avail.

About eight minutes later of frantically searching her room, she finally gave up. She was going to have to leave like this, which made part of her cringe at the thought. There was a major dislike of having her hair down in public, as it made her feel... _Uncomfortable_.

Squall heard a door slam in the distance, realizing he had to force a somewhat decent smile on his face once he saw Quis in the corner of his eye, approaching the door, and getting inside. "Ready? What took you so lon-" He said before turning his head to her direction, noticing that she had unbound her hair that had rested past her shoulders. Squall, at the moment, had found himself unsure of what to say, almost baffled. It was rare to see Quistis not as her usual self in appearance. He looked away, avoiding eye contact. "You.. Look different." He said quietly whilst switching the car back on, pulling out from the driveway and started driving toward the bar.

"My hair clip broke... And I couldn't find another one." Quis replied quietly, messing with her hair absentmindedly; as if it could offer her some small amount of comfort from the fact that her cheeks where turning a light pink. "...I dislike going anywhere with my hair down. But I didn't want you to have to wait any longer than you needed to… So I guess it wouldn't hurt me to go out like this, just once.." She quickly added to her previous statement as she turned her head to stare out the window.

He stifled a laugh about her hair clip, dubious as to why she went to all that trouble over something so trivial. "It's fine really," He said with a long exhaling breath, quickly turning the car back on, roaring. "There's really no need to get all modest here." He started to drive toward the location of the bar, his eyes on the road and glad that he was paying attention to avoid the look of fluster on his face. "You look fine, really. Don't worry." His free hand went to his face, his finger reaching out to scratch his cheek a bit and rested on his knee. "I was wondering what was taking you so long," He said with a cunning smirk forming on his lips.

Quistis sat in silence for awhile, his words falling on deaf ears, as she was too busy listening to the roar of Squall's car; and trying to ignore the pounding headache that now plagued her. There was so much going on inside her head at the moment. She wondered what kind of place the bar was that he was taking her to. If he was even going to enjoy her company, or just pretend she was someone he didn't know; like he had done the first time they had gotten drinks, many few years ago.

The ride during was a bit quiet after that, as he spent most of the duration making sure he didn't pass the establishment that was somewhat near by, while his other half wandered to thoughts of the past, and the time he spent with his friends. Would he even consider them as friends in this present day? He looked to Quis in the corner of his eyes briefly. Did the same apply to her at this very moment? Likely, but he didn't enjoy the feelings raging and running through him.

She sighed and looked over at Squall, who was concentrating on the road in-front of him. Quistis hadn't known how long she had been looking at him, before he finally glanced over and gave her a weird look. "..Sorry. I didn't mean to stare." She said softly, turning to look back out her window. "I was just thinking, is all…" Her voice trailed off, as her gaze got lost in the blur of everything they passed. She was starting to feel thankful that their final destination was a place she could get a drink. Because she was in desperate need of one now.

Noticing she had looked over to him, he quickly looked back to the road, hoping she hadn't caught him first, but he did glance over at her when she apologized. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he made a right turn. Squall grimaced, "It's fine, I'm used to women giving me that look." He mumbled, attentive to her words, curious to what she was pondering about.

Either way, his mind didn't wander much longer as the establishment came into view a second or two later. He parked right in front of the large brick building with a neon sign in front above the entrance. The door was open and the dim lights were visible, with a few patrons inside in view as well.

Squall shut the car off, removed the seat belt, and gave an exasperated sigh. "Here, finally." He exited the vehicle, and shut the door behind him, heading to the passenger's side and opened the door for Quis. As he helped her out of the vehicle, she couldn't help but glance over every little detail on the outside of the place. She had heard about this place a few times before, but never made it a point to come to the other side of town just for a drink.

It looked nice enough, and before she knew it Squall was ushering her inside, and guiding her to an open booth in the less populated side of the bar.

She could only imagine what the rest of the night would have in store from there on out.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since the duo had arrived at the bar, Quistis had felt the gaze of quite a few people on her - mostly drunken men who, in their alcohol ridden state of mind, kept shooting her lecherous looks. It was unnerving for her to say the least, and she was determined to not let Squall onto just how uneasy she was feeling with each passing moment.

Unlike his companion for the night, Squall didn't pay much attention to the other patrons who were shooting them looks from across the room, and it was bluntly obvious they didn't appreciate newcomers – or was it because they were an unlikely pair, or being gawked at because they didn't belong? He gave the thought a shrug, and looked to her, noting the uncomfortable look on her face that she seemed, and was failing at, trying to hide.

Quistis took a small look around, attempting to distract her self from the lingering gazes that seemed to burn into her side. Her nose crinkled, having had a passing thought of how tasteful the decor was, unlike the current people inhabiting the building and lounging around in drunken stupor. Crystalline blue eyes made their way over to the bartender's area, though her gaze was soon met a rather scraggly-looking man, who proceeded to make crude gestures at her once eye contact had been made.

"Ugh... _Men_." Quis muttered, as she turned to look at the wall next to her. She spent the next few second making snide remarks about how rude and disgusting most of the men in bars were under her breath; when she noticed how intently Squall was staring at her from the corner of her eye. It didn't take long for her to start getting unnerved by his gaze; and she quickly looked down at the table, avoiding all eye contact with him.

Squall rose his eyes to the rest of the room after looking away from Quis, and his face looked bitter when he exchanged glances with the other male customers sitting at their own tables. He scowled at their rude staring toward Quistis' direction, and his eyes turned to slits, beginning to glare with an enraged look. He resumed meeting eye contact with whoever challenged by looking in their direction until they backed off one by one. He didn't enjoy getting dirty looks, especially if they were directed toward Quis. Soon after he glanced back to Quistis but felt discouraged when she avoided his stare. Without a word, Squall rested his cheek in his open palm when his elbow met the table to support his weight, and looked off into another direction.

"-_So_.." Quis spoke up suddenly, trying to make light conversation and break the awkward silence between them. "..How often do you come here? I mean, don't get me wrong, it seems like a nice enough place… But I don't think I can say the same for most of the people here."

Continuing to look away, his ears remained alert to her speech. His eyes met her face and he took a breath. "I'm often a regular here. Been that wasy since this place was newly restored and made into a bar," He took another look around. "I have probably been here more than anyone else has before, but for some reason it attracts bad crowds. It was really the only place I could find where I can be alone for a couple nights a week." Squall shrugged his shoulders, relieving the tense feeling that had been burdening them like a dead weight.

In truth, he preferred to spend even the weeknights there at the bar just to be by himself. He would casually drink to his heart's content, while sitting on a bar stool when he was really the only person there – until the bar started to get more popular, and more crowded. Disgruntled at that fact, he had tried to find other places to go but this bar was the only one he felt comfortable in. It was the best place where he could just come to think, or drink to forget things he did not want to remember.

It was a constant cycle on repeat, really.

"That's… Interesting. I can't say that I'd picture you frequenting a bar." She tilted her head to the side, not really sure what to think of it. "But… I guess with everything that happened, I can't exactly blame you either… Not that I have room to talk." Quis sighed, and hesitantly looked around the bar once more. She was surprised, however, when the men that had been making rude gestures at her earlier; would quickly look away, as if they were scared of meeting her gaze once more. Or were scared or something.

While she was preoccupied at the moment, Squall motioned to a nearby waitress, and ordered the usual, then looked over to Quis. "Get whatever you want." Quistis sighed and instinctively started rubbing her temple, before turning her head upwards towards the waitress. "Uh.. I'll just take a bottle of Jack Daniel's, if you don't mind." She said, as she casually waved off the waitress with a hand nonchalantly.

Turning her sapphire eyes on Squall, Quis wondered if he had done something when she wasn't looking. There couldn't be much of anything else, that would keep drunken guys from making passes at her. But the thought that he had actually done something about it? It blew her mind completely. The old Squall she knew would have never even bothered to lift a finger; saying that she needed to learn to deal with it herself - or something of that nature. Still, she couldn't help back turn her sight back towards a few of the men and wonder.

Squall sat there with his back now leaning against the red cushion of the booth, getting comfortable and waiting for the waitress to return with their drinks. He was planning to not drink as much as he would like to considering he was a designated driver – and didn't want to risk anything. He didn't want to feel guilty about anything.

He turned his eyes to try and figure out if something at the bar was bother her when noticing where her line of sight was; wondering if his job wasn't done and some of the other customers were bothering her again. Each look back to him caused the sudden chill back to the nosy people who looked back into their direction, and they didn't bother to dare glance back. If it was something he had to do for the rest of the night, he would resort to glaring at them. His face looked sincere when he looked at her. "Just ignore them."

_Maybe he really has changed more than he let on._

It was a pleasant thought that made her feel somewhat better. Quistis shook her head and relaxed a little; giving him an appreciative smile. He turned back to Quis, eyebrow arched at her smile, confused as to what caused the gesture towards him. Squall then turned his attention toward the waitress that took their orders,who was now bringing back they wanted to drink. She placed a few glasses down, along with a bottle of Jack, and a smaller bottle of scotch then asked if they wanted anything to eat. Squall contemplated before speaking, "I'm not hungry." He motioned over to Quis. "If you want any food, go ahead and order, too."

She looked from Squall, to the waitress, and back. "No, I should be fine. But thanks anyway." Quistis smiled politely at the woman, as she turned and left them with their drinks. He was already pouring himself a shot of scotch when Quistis shot him a look and her demeanor changed dramatically. He didn't say a word though as she began to speak, and her tone suddenly changed.

"I don't have a problem with it…" She insisted, as she opened up her bottle of whiskey, and poured herself a glass. "But you forget… I know you well enough, to realize when you're not telling me things." Quis said, before tilting her head back and downing her first cup in one go. The familiar burning sensation already working it's magic on her nerves; dulling them to where she could think more clearly.

_Right. If you say so_. He replied in his mind, along with the many other thoughts flying through and interrupting his trail of thought the more he tried to pay attention to Quis speaking to him. "Clearly you don't know me well enough. I'm changed. Aren't I?" He watched her drink, and took his own shot of scotch, not one bit fidgeting from the taste. It was getting some used to, but he was accustomed to the taste.

Quistis studied his expression for a moment. "…It's Rinoa, isn't it?" She stated, with a hint of agitation in her voice, as she stared at him; daring him to try and lie to her. The look Squall gave her, answered her question without any words being spoken. "You really need to let it go already… It's been almost 5 years, Squall. She isn't worth what you're putting yourself through." She shook her head and poured herself another glass. "Look, we both know you saved her life, more times that we can count on our hands put together. But she still went back to Seifer, the very one who had put her in the very danger you saved her from time and time again."

He didn't really bother to correct her, or even slide in his input while she sat there talking down to him, and whether it was the alcohol or not, he would just sit there and listen; as much as he would've rather just drink alone.

_Why did I have to invite her again?_

He soon felt a tinge of regret, as a scowl pursed through lips when she brought up Rinoa, but he made no effort to even try to say anything.

_You think I don't know that? Why else would I have left to come be here, away from my past? _

_I'm not running away from anything._

He shifted in his seat, crossing his arms after taking another half shot of scotch. This time it stung a little – or was it the sudden pounding within his chest? "I don't care about that anymore.. Why do you continue bringing it up?" He started getting rather annoyed as his eyebrows furrowed downward, and his nose wrinkled.

She sighed and brought the glass back up to her lips, taking a sip; not really tasting the burn of the whiskey - it paled in comparison to what she was starting to feel in her chest; a pain that she was constantly trying to keep away, was now forcing it's way out.

He took a breath realizing he was holding his own the whole time she had been talking, as if one sudden exhale would annoy her and just keep her talking; having something else to whine about. He leaned his elbow to the table, his cheek buried into the palm of his hand as he looked off into another direction to avert her gaze – hoping maybe she would talk less if he wasn't looking.

The lion wasn't as fortunate as he thought he was.

When she looked back at Squall, he wasn't even facing her anymore; instead, opting to look at the wall angrily. Quis decided to speak up a little louder, just to make sure he was listening to her still. "-I know you could care less about what I have to say, but you _can_ live without Rinoa. There's someone out there for you, who's at least ten times better than her; you just need to realize this yourself." Quistis waited for some sort of reply, and when she didn't receive one; downed another full glass of whiskey.

He so often looked to the corner of his eyes when she continued eying into his direction, hoping she would take that as a sign to talk about something else or stop talking altogether. _Really, Quistis, really?_ Squall thought grumpily as he stared at the wall. His ears resumed listening him go on about Riona, and another comparison talk thrown in there of how he could find someone better. "I don't think I would be interested in anyone right now anyway." He watched as she took another drink.

_Sheesh, woman. Drink often?_

Squall obviously wasn't aware that she was still emotionally wounded from years ago. That she was getting angry; and was now on her way to getting spectacularly drunk, all because he was being a stubborn jackass. Honestly, who did he think he was, acting like this? Quistis felt anger rise in a crashing wave, and she slammed her empty glass back on the table, hating how out of control she was starting to feel all because of him.

" … Had enough to say? Or not enough to drink?" He said finally, this time aloud and with an irritable tone. Squall took the other half of his scotch and finished it off. He didn't understand what she was getting so worked up for. This was supposed to be a fun night, but instead it ended up being more than that – something completely impossible to bear. Squall didn't like having to replay his past all in one night, and he certainly had enough.

_I don't understand what's going on anymore._

"…Well _excuse me_ for having feelings." She snapped at him, without even thinking. Her emotions were getting the best of her now, and she really needed to calm down.

_I really don't know why I even bother talking to him… He'll never let me into his barrier_." He was too stubborn, and at that moment she wondered why she even had feelings for a wall like him.

The disgruntled male sat there looking to her as she snapped back at him again, and he backed off, not bothering to say anything else or it would get worse.

_Yeah, excuse you_. He continued sitting there, and shrugging off how rude she was being. He was going to pay for her drinks after all, and if this continued, he didn't know what he would do, but he kept his silent demeanor up.

She grumpily rested her elbows on the small table for two, studying the amber liquid in her glass. Her thoughts were becoming disjointed and fragmented - partially due to the alcohol in her system. Quistis could have sworn the room was tilting and spinning around her now. Not from the whiskey, though that did play a minor part, but mostly from her almost one-sided conversation with Squall.

He poured himself another drink, and swallowed it down with an exasperated sigh afterward. How much longer could he handle this awkward silence being exchanged between them? Squall was feeling his stomach churn, and he felt unsettled for this situation to be over soon. _I probably shouldn't take Quistis out to drink again after this night_. He mused, nearly keeping himself from smirking at his thoughts

Quistis knew he could be cold and act like nothing was wrong, but she didn't know if she could for much longer. She closed her eyes, thinking about everything that had happened in the past. Would she never be better than Rinoa? What was it about her, that had made him open up to her so fast **_and_** willingly to boot? She sighed inwardly, and peered down at the empty glass in her hand. Why hadn't the waitress given her a bigger glass? How was she supposed to drown away this empty feeling in her chest, if she had to refill her glass barely every two minutes? It was distressing to say the least, but there was nothing she could do about it right now.

Squall had no idea what Quis was getting so defensive for when she kept picking at the walls by mentioning Rinoa several times, reconnecting these threads of past memories to the present wasn't going so well for him right now. It was bad enough that Quis was close to slurring her words, snapping at him, and she didn't seem comfortable with talking about anything else. He watched her look to her empty glass, wondering if she was going to bother with drinking anymore, but he had a feeling she might. He clearly had enough to drink since he had to drive them both home, but he couldn't stand to see her sulking for so long. Even the silence was driving him mad, and he was growing irritated to each passing second, and minute.

She glanced around the bar, disinterested in the happy and merry people that littered the establishment - despite the fact that many were drunk, and would more than likely forget the events of the evening.

That was it, she thought, scowling at her empty glass and promptly filling it to the brim once again. It felt like Squall had just shoved her out of his tolerating zone yet again; which probably wasn't hard, given the way she had been talking to him. And now, she was sitting in a bar, practically talking to herself. Was she sulking?

Quis glanced down at herself, disliking the scenario that she found herself in, and studied the dim light reflecting off her glass, and the bottle of whiskey by her hand.

_Yes_, she considered. She was most definitely sulking.


	5. Chapter 5

Quistis sat there for a long period of time, eventually staring off into space at the wall closest to her; ignoring the looks she was getting across the table from Squall. She honestly didn't feel like she could even match his gaze, not with the way she was feeling now. All she could do was wait, and see if he'd speak to her.

"Have you had enough?" He said finally, reaching for his wallet, throwing some munny onto the table, and waving the waitress to come by to pick it up - also motioning for her to keep the rest of the extra spare change. Squall squeezed his wallet back into his pocket, and went back to leaning against the booth chair. "I think you had enough."

Her sapphire-blue gaze settled on him, hard and piercing. Had she had enough to drink? Not even close, she was used to drinking way more at home. Was she going to tell him that? _Hell no_. At this point she didn't even know why she was sticking around, it was obvious her presence was annoying him to no end. She might as well leave by herself, so he wouldn't have to even bother with her anymore.

_…I want to go home. I can't deal with this for much longer._ The woman's thoughts echoed in her mind.

Squall settled his eyes to the shimmer of the liquor, holding his attention to the rim of his class that was cupped in the palm of his hand with coiled fingers wrapped around the solid object. He regretted saying what he did – for a second, but for once he didn't hold back on what he wanted to say, and figured it was him just being honest. That's what she wanted, right? For him to open up instead of keeping to himself? She should be lucky he was even confiding with her, yet she was simply ruining the mood

"…I'm leaving." The blonde said out of nowhere, in a loud icy tone, that startled half the other people in the bar within earshot. Quistis pushed herself out of the booth angrily, and took a few steps towards the partially opened bar doors, before turning around to face Squall. Upon hearing her words of wanting to leave, he said nothing at all, with his eyes looking to her face as she mouthed her discomfort. He blinked, with a faint, baffled look on his face. Wait, what did she say? His body suddenly felt heavy, as she announced that she was leaving,

"Just forget I said anything, okay? You obviously don't even remember who did everything you ever asked of them, and more, just so you could be happy… Even if that meant _they_ sacrificed their own happiness in the process." She said, her words like venom, as if turned into poisonous icicles and impaling into his very soul.

He looked up to her as she talked, but the words weren't seeping through his ears as he soaked in every sentence. For a brief moment he felt as if he was being scolded, as she brought up things that were gnawing at his defenses - that were crumbling his wall. Squall's eyes lowered to the table, and then all went quiet. With that said, she stormed out of the bar doors, and disappeared into the night, heading in the direction of her house. It took a while for the ice cold words to sink into his brain. By the time he realized what Quistis had said, it was too late.

He looked back up to find that she had disappeared, but he sat there with a solemn look on his face that was filled with dread, and sudden guilt. Even if the crowd was loud and boisterous, everything went silent for him as he toned everything out. The lion sat there alone with no idea of what to do now. Raising the glass to his lips he took a final, long swig of the throat-burning liquor before setting it back down with a swift thud. "The hell just happened here?"

Outside, and a few blocks away already, was Quistis, who kept walking until she got to an intersection about 10 minutes walking distance from the bar. The crossing sign was red, so she leaned against the pole and caught her breath. _…What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't have brought Rinoa up. Now he's mad, and I wouldn't put it past him to not want to talk to me for awhile, if ever again…_ Her train of thought was disrupted by a few very cold droplets of water on her cheek, and within a few minutes everything around her was soaking wet from the onset of rain, including her. "…Fuck my life… This night can't get any worse…" The blonde muttered under her breath, already shivering slightly from the cold soak she was in. A few seconds later, a flash of green told her it was okay to cross; and she did so without looking back.

About forty-five minutes later, she finally arrived at her doorstep. Everything she was wearing was drenched down to her skin, which was cold to the touch and covered in goosebumps. The only thing she had liked about the rain, was that no one was able to tell that she had been crying. Quistis hated crying. The tight feeling in her chest, the lump in her throat that wouldn't go away; the utter sense of hopelessness that came from letting her walls down for once in a rare moon. She had always told herself that it was a sign of weakness, and if there was no alternative, she would do it alone in the comfort of her own home.

She fumbled around in her wet pocket, the fabric clinging tightly to itself, and eventually fished out her keys; quickly unlocking the front door, and stepping into the warmth of her own home. "…Better get some dry clothes on before I get sick…" Quistis mumbled under her breath, and trudged into her room. She practically ripped off her wet garments, and pulled out a fresh dark blue shirt with a pair of knee high shorts from her closet; and pulled them on. "I still feel like shit…" She sighed, while beryl eyes momentarily glanced out the window about her bed. The rain was still going, and in full force. Didn't seem like it would be letting up any time soon.

Quistis left her room, turning off all the lights in her house as she moved, and laid down on the couch in her living room. Her day had went from relatively good, to shit within a few hours. _Typical_. This is why she didn't like going out to bars with people she knew. She always became some kind of bitchy ice queen, but it wasn't like she could help herself.

Thinking back to the scene at the bar, she wondered if Squall had even cared about anything she had said. She had spilled her heart and soul to him… And this is what she got? _Figures_. Quistis had always been his last priority, and she was well aware of that fact. But why, did it still hurt so much? She had always put his happiness first, no matter what happened to her. Shouldn't that have meant something to him? Or had he been so enthralled by Rinoa, that he had never taken notice?

Another sigh escaped over pink lips, which were tinged a light blue from the coldness. She draped her left arm across her eyes, letting the other fall over the side of the sofa. Quistis wanted nothing more than to push those thoughts away, lay there in the silence; and never face those feelings again. Not like doing so would do her any good, not after what had occurred that night.

Back at the bar, Squall was still sitting there alone at the booth, his back pressed to the seated-cushion behind him as he nearly slouched there for several minutes. Soon he found himself with both his elbows pressed on the table's surface, for support of his face being buried into his hands. He shook his head furiously, taking a sharp, deep inhale. He rubbed at his temples, replaying the words Quistis had said before she left.

_Just forget I said anything, okay? You obviously don't even remember who did everything you ever asked of them, and more, just so you could be happy… Even if that meant they sacrificed their own happiness in the process._

He ruffled, and tousled through his hair with his tense fingers, and lifted his head to stare into the empty space where she had once occupied. Squall's lower lip trembled, and his reflection off the empty scotch bottle was showing himself to be frowning.

The silence was maddening – driving him crazy to the point where he couldn't stop talking to himself under his breath, or his thoughts wouldn't stop racing much more rapid than his heart was pounding within his chest. "What did she mean? Why does she keep bringing up shit I don't want to talk about? It's in the past for a reason. Stop bringing this shit up.." His nose wrinkled and the muscles of his cheeks felt constricted. "Don't you ever think that was why I left Balamb in the fucking first place? To get away from it all? It's why I started a new life, you know – but you wouldn't know! You never even bother to let me talk." He got up from the booth, turning away from his seat and encountered the waitress who served him and Quistis earlier with their drinks.

"Leaving already, sir?" The young raven-haired said with a soft smile, her eyes shining sympathetically. He looked down to the shorter girl, and nodded to her. "Yeah." She patted his arm lightly. "Cheer up, Mr. Leonhart! I'm sure you will do the right thing." She added a smile, turned from him and went to the table across from him to cater to the group there, leaving a confused Squall standing there to figure out what the waitress girl meant.

_Do the right thing?_ He said to himself as his feet led him to the exit, and to the street. He looked up to the darkened clouds above his head, and the droplets of water impacting lightly onto his face.

It was cool and refreshing, but it didn't exactly make him feel better.


	6. Chapter 6

Squall stepped to his car, and shut the driver's side door as he got settled into the leather seat. He inserted his keys into the ignition and switched the car on; the engine coming to life with ease. The lion sat there with the car running, debating whether to go home or not, but his thoughts reflected back to what Quistis had said, and what the waitress was hinting him towards doing the right thing.

His fingers found the seat belt and fastened it to the clip to his other side, and his hands both settled gripping the steering wheel. He made no movements, but his mind was made up. God damn this woman. He thought angrily with his foot pressing on the gas after shifting into the drive gear, and the car pushed forward, roaring as he drove into the fleeing blonde's direction – hoping he could catch up with her since she had eagerly, and rudely, gone out in the rain.

_This selfish woman will be the death of me._

With the windshield wipers being summoned to clear the condensation and rain from hindering his driving and view, he made a few turns here and there down a few more streets, stopping when needed at stops signs, yielding when needed, and stopping at whatever red light he found himself running into.

_Every single fucking red light. You're kidding me. I should just go back home. Fuck this shit._

He swiped his hair from his forehead to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sat at the glaring red, radiant light of the intersection. When it turned green Squall pushed onto the gas pedal and continued to Quistis' house, but his thoughts were conflicting – arguing with him, telling him to go home, but his body was resisting. His body was in control, but his mind wandered off to sulk.

Squall still didn't understand why she had left, but he couldn't really blame her. If he had been the one bringing up the past up she would surely be ignoring him, too, and he would've gotten up to leave, as well. "Would I really have done that?" He said, responding to his bothersome thoughts.

_I don't even know anymore._

_What am I doing again?_

He slowed the car down as he approached Quistis' house – not having any luck with trying to catch up with her, but he was stupid to think he would have caught up to her. Squall did sit at the booth even after she left, so she wouldn't have taken her time on the walk home. The car was soon parked and his eyes looked toward the misted window to the view of her house, but he made no motions to get out.

_What if she doesn't want to see my face?_

_I expect her to punch me, if anything._

_I would punch myself too, if I were her._

He laughed unexpectedly, but quickly frowned and put up his trademark scowl as he reached for the door handle, and exited the vehicle. Pushing tired, achy feet, he dragged himself to her door and just stood there, letting the rain soak him. He sighed.

_Should I knock? Or should I turn back around and go home?_

_Now would be a good time to decide… But I didn't come here for nothing._

He placed a hand to his face, brushing down from his nose to his mouth, expressing distress to this situation. Raising a clenched fist inches away from the door with a knocking motion, he was about to make contact until thoughts of them back at the bar started to invade him, interrupting his motive. She was right about one thing: he was a big jerk with what happened back there, but she didn't have to do what she did.

_It's not all my fault. I'm not the only one at fault here._

The disgruntled male shook his head, lowering his arm and leaning his back against the door as he turned to face the street with his arms crossed. "Ugh… Damn it, Quis." He rolled both his shoulders in a shrugging gesture to release the tension, and he made his decision. In the corner of his eye he noticed a glimmer, hidden behind one of the plants that decorated outside her door, and he bent down with his knees; his weight on his legs to examine the shiny object which turned out to be a key. He grinned.

_So, you leave an extra key out here if you lock yourself out?_

_How wise of you._

_Don't you know there's stalkers out here?_

Squall suddenly scowled at himself, as he realized what he was referring to. He laughed it off though, using the key to get into the house, and closed the door quietly behind him. Squall crept inside quietly, still soaked from the rain, and entered the living room to find Quistis on the sofa in silence. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Quistis… I never thought I would see you sulking."

"That's _my_ job."

Quistis sat there in silence, trying to register what was actually going on. Why was Squall in her house? And how had he gotten in? She was sure she had locked the front door, unless… The blonde mentally kicked herself, after realizing she had left a key outside still. Maybe keeping it out there was a bad idea…

Squall smiled through his teeth and trudged over to her, firmly gripping her shoulders to help sit her up, and straighten her out so he could wrap his arms around her. "Why did you leave?" He whispered to her, sinking his head into her shoulder.

She immediately snapped out of her thoughts, and focused on the man who had wrapped his arms around her tightly; not to mention burying his head into her shoulder. Squall was totally drenched from the pouring rain, and in hugging her had only dampened her now not so dry clothes. Part of her wanted to push him away, and tell him to just leave her alone and get out of her house… But the other part of her was content on just being held by him, even if it didn't mean more to him then some friendly comforting hug.

The brunet didn't exactly think of this as a full-proof plan, or what the consequences of him being here without her consent would be, but if he knew Quistis well enough he would assume that she might have punched him for barging in here without the simplest of permission first. It was a stupid idea at first, he admitted, but he didn't know what else to do, or where else to go. He really should have considered a different en route – like knocking for example instead of opting out for the key she had hidden, something he clearly forgot to do in the heat of the moment. He hoped she would forgive him for it eventually.

"…Why I left?" Quistis mumbled under her breath and shifted around, starting to feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing. Did she really want to tell him everything she had felt for the longest? And even if she did, there was no guarantee his reaction would be a positive one. "Squall… I just…" Quis sighed, and momentarily rested her head on his soaked shoulder while contemplating on the best course of action here.

Still waiting for her answer, he decided to give her her space and released his grip to back away to set his gaze to her face, and seeing the puffy swollen outline around her eyes made him frown.

_Did I make her cry? Wow. I really am a jerk, aren't I?_

Squall propped himself up with his knees as he listened to her, even if she was all over the place with her words, he didn't bother to intervene with her thoughts that were probably spiraling as much as his were. He tried not to move as her head steadied on his shoulder, as the comforting look in his azure eyes looked to her own sapphire.

"…No, tell me why you're here fist." The blonde tried speaking in her usual irritated cold voice, but her sinking emotions turned it into a sort of whimper on her part. "You had no real reason to come after me… Especially after I stormed out like that. I was anything but civil to you, and honestly I figured you'd either not want to talk to me again… Or ever for the matter." She flattened her cheek on his shoulder once again, and stared at the wall adjacent to them. "I thought I understood you Squall… But seeing you here, in my house right now, I'm not so sure I do… The old you wouldn't have even bothered with checking up on me… I really just don't get you at all."

Squall realized he had Quistis in his embrace, her head buried on his shoulder again, and he didn't feel any justice to even be worthy of looking to her. Not like this. This feeling, that was already unlike him, which didn't feel like him after all, but what could he do?

Sheltering his feelings was all he learned to do, and was what he did his entire life, and all it did was push people who were important to him away. Squall regretted it when he was alone, but would never think he was the only one at fault. Not only that, he felt even worse for draping his wet self all over her, but he couldn't bother to pull away from her inviting warmth that kept him sane. His thoughts were uncontrollable to whether what his embrace meant to them, but he really only wanted to hold her. To him, after all, she was the only one who looked after him ever since he was a child. The least he could do was tell her the truth. To tell her how selfish he was, how much of a stubborn mule he was to her. If only this time he could look after her this time.

Squall said nothing at first as she suggested him to explain why he visited, but with no chance to express himself as she continued, he kept his lips sealed. He could sense the emotion with the sounds she was making, and he felt even worse. "I know you have every right to be angry at me right now." He said firmly, keeping himself still as Quis's cheek was still resting on his shoulder this time.

_Even if you were a little selfish as to leave me hanging back there. After I paid for our drinks._

He left that part out, not bearing much importance and was probably better off unsaid. "But I couldn't just sit there knowing that you were hurting all along. And bearing with it all." He cleared his throat, his cheeks getting flushed was a rare occurrence, but he couldn't fight it. "I don't think there's a point in my life where I could endure not talking – or seeing you, Quis." He started to feel his chest tighten.

"I know I probably don't make much sense, or have any excuses as to why I'm acting this way. It's not me at all." He reached with his free hands to lightly caress, and lift her face so that they were barely an inch away, and his breath was so apparent in their shortened distance that she could feel it on her (even though the smell lingered of alcohol). "But can't you see? When I'm near you, I'm a different man. Doesn't that count for anything?" He slowly leaned close to her, but only stared into her eyes that held a strong desire to be content with only looking to her, and no one else. Squall then raised his lips to peck her forehead lightly for a brief, tender moment.

Everything had been going on in slow motion, as if time had stood still – or even worse, a moment of their past coming to haunt them from a certain sorceress from long ago – Ultimecia for being the reason behind the time delay. She was thankful for that moment ceasing to exist in this exact moment.

This made Quistis' heart skip a rhythm within her tightening chest. Her eyes were locked directly into his, when he pulled away from a sweet touch warming her forehead; burning her from within and igniting a sense of confusion lingering with desire. The brunet had lightly brushed a slender strand of hair from her face, faintly smiling, but also appearing to be flustered with what he had done. He almost waited to be met with a solid slap to the side of his face, already anticipating the redness his cheek would endure and the pain radiating off his skin.

_But nothing happened._


End file.
